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I had a great time at the Great American Music Hall tonight. I had heard that M. Ward was touring with a band and opening for Rilo Kiley, but I didn't realize that meant that the band backing him up would be... Rilo Kiley. It was cool and kind of funny to see M. Ward transform into a rock band. Anyway, Matt was great, both solo and with the band. His cover of "Let's Dance" remains transcendent, and I think his latest originals are even better than the ones that came before.

Responding to

europopkid's post about the L.A. show: I thought the SF crowd was pretty into it. There was some talking in the back during the acoustic songs, but the front was pretty attentive and there was a lot of applause.

Between sets I had a nice conversation with another M. Ward fan, which helped to dispel the perpetual loneliness of the guy-who-came-for-the-opening-act. She lamented the audience's reluctance to dance during Matt's set; I, wistfully a swayer at best, kept my mouth shut. I gave her my card, so in case she finds her way here, Hi Amy.

As for Rilo Kiley: Well, I have no prior experience to compare to, but I thought their set was great. Jenny Lewis played the first song solo from the balcony! Diverse keyboards including, approximately, a Casio and an accordion were employed! The bass stopped working during the encore and it turned into drums and guitar solo until they got it fixed! It was a rock show.